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CROCODOPOLIS world of crocodilians TM SCIENCE · CULTURE · INDUSTRY · NEWS · COMMUNICATION · CONSERVATION
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NEWS
The CROC PRESS Regular coverage of crocodilians and people in headlines worldwide.
Wes von Papineäu, News Page Editor Email: crocnews@crocodopolis.net _________________________________________________
Week of 18 May 08
CROCTV:
11 May 08 'Behind the Scenes of Wild Florida'
Crocodilian wrangler Joe Wasilewski handles an American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) for the Florida documentary series, Wild Florida, tethering the reptiles for aquatic video shooting that makes them appear naturally free. See it here.
18 May 08 Crocodiles attack, forest dept sounds alert
In India, the Kolkata state forest department has sounded an alert on possible acts of violence by estuarine crocodiles in riverside villages, asking the residents to be extra-cautious while venturing into water-bodies.
Crocodiles have killed a man while maiming over a dozen of people since past one month in villages that adjoin Bhitarkanika national park. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=9&id=231339&usrsess=1 18 May 08 Out of place alligator in NC lake
A 3.5 foot/ metre-long alligator seen to be swimming in an N Carolina's Lake Hickory is not expected to survive through the summer.
The alligator is likely a pet that was dumped into the lake, said Brad Howard, a biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. "They starve to death because they can't figure out how to eat, or they die some other way," he said.
"Alligators his size eat lizards, toads, insects and fish. Maybe a muskrat if he's lucky -- that's if he even figures out how to eat that. He doesn't know how to hunt. He was somebody's pet. I would be surprised if he lives throughout the summer." http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/may/18/out-of-place-alligator-likely-an-abandoned-pet-wil/ 17 May 08 Gator in LSU lake eludes capture
The 3-foot/metre-long alligator calling Louisiana State University home right now doesn't know how lucky he is.
When he showed up at the small lake near South Stadium Drive in LSU, facility maintenance decided that instead of calling in someone to dispose of the alligator, they wanted to trap him for relocation.
After a little research they found the right trap and then placed it on a dry spot of ground along the lake's edge where the alligator had been fond of sunning himself.
Now the trap is in a few inches of water, which evidently makes the trap the perfect place for the alligator to sun himself. More than once over the last couple weeks, the alligator has crawled on top of the trap to catch some afternoon sun - thumbing his nose at the whole attempt to capture him. http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/19035954.html 17 May 08 NY zoo cares for alligators confiscated by DEC
The New York State Zoo at Thompson Park is caring for two alligators that were taken from a Lowville man by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Conservation police asked the zoo's staff if it could keep the reptiles until the court case is concluded These two specimens are in "beautiful health," zoo Director John S. Foster said. "They're little guys - they're cute."
Once the court proceedings are finished, the zoo will look for placement for the animals. http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20080517/NEWS03/889031642
20 May 08 Gator attacks dog in Loxahatchee , Fla.
A Florida woman is asking for dog lovers to rally around her beloved Shepherd mix, terribly injured by an alligator in Loxahatchee.
Despite a shattered jaw, broken legs and deep puncture wounds, there is hope for the 9 year old dog, who managed to get out of the jaws of the alligator that clamped down on him in the shallow water of a Loxahatchee canal. http://www.wptv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=76e39ea9-31ee-4b4e-873a-e8ca9fb8d716 19 May 08 'Great White Alligator' visits Maritime Aquarium
See a very rare "great white of the wetlands," an eight-and-a-half-foot/ 2.6 metre--long white alligator. It may be the most rare live animal you will ever encounter, said Jack Schneider, curator at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Connecticut.
This "Cajun curiosity" was hatched at an alligator farm in Cut Off, La. and raised at Alligator Farm Zoological Park in St. Augustine, Fla. White alligators are so rare, legend says staring into their eyes brings prosperity and good fortune.
Included in the swampland exhibit are interpretive displays explaining the need for wetlands conservation, both in alligator country as well as around Long Island Sound where marsh preservation here is analogous to swamp protection down south. http://www.norwalkplus.com/nwk/information/nwsnwk/publish/Local_2/Great_ White_Alligator_visits_Maritime_Aquarium1381.shtml 17 May 08 Fla. deputy's gator grab 'a matter of bad judgment'
Two stories on a Volusia County sheriff's deputy's' wrassle' with a 210-pound/100 kilo alligator ... the latter coming out the winner (though the rematch with an accredited trapper didn't go so well for the reptile). Deputy Keith Baughman intended to protect people from the alligator roaming an apartment complex parking lot, so the lawman threw a towel over the gator's eyes and climbed onto its back.
The alligator threw off Baughman, then quickly snagged the deputy's left leg in its large jaws, said Brandon Haught, sheriff's spokesman. A fellow officer fired at the gator who let go.
"We recommend to the public never to engage an alligator. The same (goes) for our deputies -- never engage the wildlife like that," an official said. "It was just a case of bad judgment on (the deputy's) part."
Baughman does not face any serious discipline because of his actions, but there likely will be a supervisor's review. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD01WEST051708.htm VIDEO LINK below 17 May 08 Deputy violated policy over gator http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/news/deltona/orl-cfbriefs17_608may17,0,849939.story 16 May 08 Texas sinkhole becomes private pool for gator
In Daisetta, Texas, a seven-foot/ 2.1-metre alligator has set up home in a sinkhole Residents believe the reptile was washed into the 600-foot-diameter crater with water from the swamps that surround the town. Once plunging more than 260 feet deep, the sinkhole is starting to turn into a lake. Authorities estimate the lake is at least 75 feet deep and is still rising. The exposed walls of the sinkhole are about 30 feet high.
Harry Coplin, 74, doesn't believe anyone is worried about the alligator taking up residence.
"Some of the workers at a propane gas plant that shut down here used to feed their leftover sandwiches to 9-footer that lived right back in there," he said. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5786525.html
18 May 08 Aparecen más cocodrilos en el río Bravo
Crocodiles are now a major obstacle to illegal immigrants trying to cross México's Bravo River into the United States.
El río Bravo sigue siendo un peligro para los migrantes que pierden la vida al intentar cruzarlo en su ilusión de alcanzar "el sueño verde", pero ahora existe otro peligro, dentro de el viven cocodrilos. 17 May 08 Vecino inesperado
A seven metre/ 23-foot (??) crocodile shows up for a football game in Puerto Rico. (Photo at the URL) http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=362273 17 May 08 Krokodil-Angst am Schwielowsee - Badegäste sahen es vor einer Woche am Ufer schwimmen
German bathers are reporting a 3-foot/metre-long crocodile swimming at a popular lakeside beach site.
Der Schnappi vom Schwielowsee bleibt Hausfrau Monika Henning (50) aus Ferch trotzdem unheimlich: "So, wie es beschrieben wurde, ist es zu groß für einen Biber. Ich war seitdem nicht mehr im Wasser..." http://www.bild.de/BILD/berlin/aktuell/2008/05/17/krokodil-angst/am-schwielowsee,geo=4553706.html 12 May 08 Especialistas de cuatro países inician taller sobre el cocodrilo cubano
A report on the 17 May 'Crocodile Festival' in Cuba, in which 70 croc-experts discussed, amongst other things, how best to protect the Cuban Crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer). http://www.cubavision.cubaweb.cu/detalles.asp?ID=37448
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